Forgetful Memories
by Enetelligence
Summary: Have you ever wondered what Joshua's life was before becoming Composer? Did he have any friends? What about Neku- what was his life like? Was he always emo...? What happened to them after the Long Game? What if the two of them had been best friends at some point-? What if Joshua was the reason that Neku didn't trust people in the first place...? (Dead Friend!AU, contains OCs)
1. Prologue

**As a note, this chapter _does_ contain suicide. So please avoid if that makes you squeamish, etc. (Though it doesn't go into _too_ much detail-)**

* * *

"I wouldn't expect _you_ to understand!" a feminine voice screamed, then there was the sound of a door slamming, and then a crash as several things were shoved off the older teenager's desk. From the destruction that she was causing, it was obvious that Mai Akira was extremely irritated. The sound of shattering glass as a picture frame fell to the floor, a loud _THUMP_ as books fell from her desk to the floor…-

And then there was the sound of the door slowly creaking open—a small boy with messy, black hair staring in at his sister as she proceeded to keep throwing things. Something that she did… quite often when she and their mother would get into a fight, which… was quite often. Especially after their father had died—Both had been under a lot of stress since then, and were almost constantly on edge with each other. And to be honest, fights like this weren't… uncommon in the Akira household.

But there was one thing that would almost always lead to Mai being able to calm down—her younger brother, Yoshito. The one person that she would always be there for—no matter what. He… was her bro-bro, after all—

"…. Maimai…?-" the little five year old, Yoshito, asked, looking up at his older sister with big, green eyes. From the way his voice shook, it was obvious that he was extremely nervous to be speaking to her—and for good reason. She had just been irritably shoving _everything_ from her desk after a loud argument with their mother that had lasted for almost an hour and a half—However, it was obvious that he was constantly redirecting his eyes to the shattered picture frame on the floor… Almost as if he knew that it contained something extremely important to his sister.

Mai was silent for a moment, not looking at Yoshito. Then, finally, Mai turned to face the younger boy. It… was obvious that the girl had been crying, though she carefully wiped the tears from her face. She… didn't need to be crying in front of her younger brother. She needed to look strong for him. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Mai knelt down so that she was on Yoshito's level—also forcing a small smile for the younger boy. She… had to look strong. And confident for him. Nothing could change that. "… I'm fine," she whispered, blinking at him with her green eyes. And that was partially the truth—there was nothing wrong with _her._ Yet at the same time, she was still so worked up…-

Yoshito blinked at her, before slowly approaching her and wrapping his arm around her in a comforting hug—he didn't like seeing his precious Maimai so upset. She… didn't deserve that. Not at all—There was a moment of silence between the two of them, the five year old giving his older sister a squeeze before, finally—"… You threw down your picture frame—"

And with that, Mai quickly and quietly turned her head, her eyes focusing on the picture frame that had been on her desk. The one that had shattered on the floor only minutes ago. The one that held a very important picture to the teenager…

The frame that contained the last picture of herself and their father.

"O- oh god…" the teen blinked, staring at the picture frame. Her arms still wrapped around Yoshito, as well. She… couldn't believe that she had thrown _that_ of all things—that very important picture that meant so much to her… Carefully pulling herself away from her younger brother, and ruffling his hair for a moment, Mai quietly crawled across the floor—being careful not to cut herself on the broken glass. She could feel Yoshito staring at her, watching quietly… But she didn't care. Finally picking the frame up, her eyes watered ever so slightly—the picture, unlike the frame, hadn't been damaged. "… Thank god…" Mai muttered to herself, bringing the broken picture frame to her chest—tears starting to swell in her eyes once again.

Then there was the sound of quiet footsteps as Yoshito got up and walked over to her, quietly peeking over her shoulder—"…. Maimai…? Are you okay…?" he asked, his voice slightly high-pitched due to his age. It… was honestly extremely adorable, in its own way.

Even though tears were still falling from her eyes, Mai nodded quietly, still holding the shattered frame close to her chest. "I'm… f- fine…" she murmured, not looking at Yoshito. There was silence, and then—"… You should go check on Mommy. I'll… c- clean all this up…" she muttered, finally glancing back at her younger brother.

Yoshito was hesitant, not wanting to leave his sister by herself. She _was_ crying after all… Would leaving her have been a smart decision…? But at the same time, the dark-haired child knew that his mother was also extremely worked up after the argument—both of them always were, even if their mother didn't express it in the same way that Mai did. Finally, after his moment of hesitation…- "Alright…"

And with that, the younger boy had left the room, effectively leaving Mai by herself. Still holding the photo frame. Still crying… Listening for Yoshito's footsteps to stop—to fade, Mai reluctantly pulled the photo away from her chest. Staring at it, her tears started to flow even more. She… she really did miss their father. And though she loved their mother, they… weren't as close as she had been with their father. It was a shame that Yoshito had never gotten the chance to even meet the man who had been a large part of her life for ten years—and then there had been the accident. Their father had passed away, and everyone was devastated.

Including Mai. Of course, unlike everyone else, Mai had hope that he would be back. That'd he'd be home, like he was supposed to be, in a week. He'd… just have to survive the Game, after all…-

That's right, Mai Akira had been able to see the UG. She'd seen it for her entire life—as long as she could remember. Of course, after the accident, Mai never talked about it anymore. She wasn't going to worry their mother with the fact that she saw things that others couldn't… She didn't need the stress of thinking that her daughter was crazy…

And it was better to avoid the questions of what happened to their father with that lie, too. The memory of the man's Erasure still hurt Mai greatly—and she had burst out crying almost instantly as it happened. All her hope of her father returning to life had been lost in an _instant._

Mai hadn't been the same since then, either. She had been even more on edge. She had been more easily angered, and she couldn't stand the fact that she saw the UG anymore….

So why was she contemplating going into the UG tonight?

The answer to that question was simple. Their mother had pushed her over the emotional edge. She couldn't deal with any of it anymore—she couldn't deal with _her_ anymore. She couldn't deal with the stress of school, seeing the UG, and the stress she felt from their mother, anymore. It was just far too much for one person to handle.

And with that, Mai quietly stood up and closed the door to her room. She wasn't going to clean up her mess. She… had other things on her mind. Silently, the door was pushed closed and Mai turned her back to it after locking it. She… didn't need anyone—especially Yoshito—walking in on what she was about to do. Carefully tearing a piece of paper from one of her school notebooks, the teenager began carefully, even if it was a bit shaky, writing on the paper as neatly as she could manage. The katakana slightly messier than normal. She was obviously still extremely shaken from the earlier argument with their mother.

* * *

 _To whoever finds this—_

 _I want you to know that, above all, my family means the most to me. And even if you cannot see me… I'll always be watching over you. I understand that my young death may be devastating for those who care for me most, but I still want you to know that, no matter what, I still love you._

 _No matter the things I've said, I still love you. And no matter what, I swear that I'll be there to protect you. Even if I can't be seen, I'll protect you._

 _And for my final thoughts… Yoshito—I love you more than anything. You're my little brother, and I swear that, no matter what, I'll love you. You mean so much to me, and I want you to remember… No matter what you see, no matter what other people tell you… You're not crazy. Just because you see things others don't doesn't make you insane—it makes you a very special kind of person, who could go extremely far…. But, for now…_

 _Goodbye._

* * *

With the note written, Mai neatly folded it and left it on her desk—which was still cleared almost completely. It… wouldn't be too hard to miss, especially with the large " _For Mother and Yoshito"_ written on the back of the folded paper, obviously visible from a glance.

Without a moment of hesitation, Mai hit the floor, her hand going under the bed and grabbing something that was long, and rough to the touch—a rope. Pulling it from under her bed, the teenager stared at it, silently debating to herself. Would she be able to go through with it? Would she regret her decision…?

 _Yes, I can do it…-_ she thought, tying a noose into the rope. It'd be easy—just hang the rope over her bed, put the noose around her neck, and step off to let herself suffocate. A simple way to do it that wouldn't leave too much of a mess to be cleaned up… Yet it wouldn't be as slow and painful as… overdosing on medication, per se.

Quietly, she threw part of the rope upwards, quietly securing it in place with the noose that she had made only a moment ago. Tugging at it a couple of times, she was satisfied with the fact that the knot held, and the rope stayed in place.

Quietly tying another noose into the rope while she stood on her bed, Mai kept glancing to the door that led into her bedroom. She was expecting someone to come in at any moment… But she remembered that she had locked the door a couple of minutes ago. She had no worries of getting caught doing this. The only thing that could hold her back was herself… And she had no intention of stepping down.

Well, stepping down from doing this. She had every intention of stepping down, off the bed, with a rope around her neck. Taking a deep breath and glancing towards the door one last time, Mai brought the rope around her neck. _Just remember this isn't the end… Not truly…-_ she reminded herself. She had been able to see the Game her entire life after all.

And with that, she stepped off the bed, the rope tightening around her neck, slowly suffocating her. Slowly, as she was gasping air and struggling, everything went black… And eventually, her body went limp and lifeless.

* * *

 **So this is probably a lot to take in, but I'm sure this'll all make sense in the next chapter, which… actually doesn't take place directly after this. As a matter of fact, it takes place about… five-six years later. I'm honestly not sure how often I'll update this, either. But I'll try to update it often.**

 **Anyways, I guess you're wondering who _exactly_ these two characters are. Well… Long story short, without spoiling anything that I have planned, Yoshito is Joshua. And Mai is, obviously, his sister. So… I guess you could call Yoshito a… half-OC of sorts, I guess? Though all that will be explained much later. In the meantime, enjoy the death of Yoshito's sister, who'll probably be showing up a bit in the next chapters! Anyways, feel free to leave any constructive criticism—I'm open to listen to any suggestions that anyone has! :3**


	2. Chapter 1

_The patter of footsteps running down the carpeted hallway—then silence, that led to a moment of hesitation. "Maimai?" Yoshito asked, reaching for the doorknob and trying to turn it—it didn't budge. Continuing to try to open the door, the boy started to get frustrated. Hadn't mother made it a rule that doors weren't supposed to be locked…? "Maimai…?" he asked again, his voice slightly louder. There was no response. He proceeded to knock at the door—still no response. "…. Maimai, please?- I don't want to have to get you in anymore trouble!" the five year old whined, gently tapping on the door once again. And just like last time, there was no response._

 _Turning on his heels, Yoshito ran back down the hallway, through the living room, and into the apartment's small kitchen. "… Mommy! Mai won't open her door and it's locked…!" he whined, tugging at the black-haired woman's shirt. After hearing this, she let out a sigh. It was obvious that she was irritated as she reached into one of the drawers, bringing out a key. She then proceeded to walk back to Mai's room, Yoshito trailing behind her quite sadly—it was obvious that he hated having to tell on his older sister… She meant the world to him, after all._

" _Mai Akira?!" their mother asked, raising her voice a bit as she stood outside the door. "Unlock this door right now!" There was no response from the other side. Muttering something under her breath, the woman put the key into the door and turned it—the mechanism making a rather satisfying 'clicking' sound as the door unlocked. Pushing it open, Ms. Akira's eyes widened in horror at the sight—"M- m—"_

* * *

Yoshito jerked up into a sitting position after waking up from his nightmare, his eyes wide. It'd been about five years since then, yet the event still haunted the young boy. And why wouldn't it? Anyone who walked in to see their sibling just _hanging there,_ limp and lifeless, would be scarred for life. Even Yoshito Akira, who was used to seeing death on a daily basis at this point. It'd been ten years, and he hadn't received a single break from being able to see the Reaper's Game—And even if he'd seen it for so long, the UG still scared him.

In the past people had just shrugged it off as an overactive imagination. That he was only imagining things, and they'd eventually go away… just like every other child's imaginary friends.

But the UG wasn't like that. Not at all. Even after they swore that it'd go away eventually, and even after several doctors diagnosing him with different mental disorders and prescribing different medications, nothing worked. The UG was still there. There was nothing that could change that, and there was nothing that could stop him from seeing it…

That was a fact that he'd accepted months ago, at this point. Even if he didn't want to, he'd just have to deal with it…

Quietly looking around his room, Yoshito was relieved to see that it all had, in fact, just been another nightmare. He was still in his room, under the covers, and in his own bed. His eyes fell on each of the posters in his room—each of which depicted a VOCALOID, though most of the posters featured either GUMI or IA. Not that his taste in music mattered too much. A glance at the alarm clock by his bed showed that it was 5:30 in the morning—still too earlier for him to get up and get ready for school… Yet he knew there'd be no way in hell that he'd be able to fall back asleep after that nightmare. _I never can…_ he thought, letting out a sigh and pulling the covers back.

It wasn't long before he was out of bed and slowly walking towards the door that led out of his bed room—he'd have to be extremely quiet to not wake his mother… He didn't want her to worry about him with his stupid nightmares, after all.

Quietly, Yoshito slipped down the hallway towards the extra bedroom that had been closed off—though the door was kept unlocked, thankfully. It… was nice to be able to have access to his sisters old room, even if that _is_ where she died…-

Quietly, Yoshito slipped into the room, carefully closing the door behind him. If his mom did, for whatever reason, wake up… he didn't want her to know that he was in _Mai's_ room of all places… That would lead to too many questions being asked, and answers that would lead to the woman worrying. She… already had enough on her plate as it was, with work and everything… She was barely even home in the first place, and all of it was to take care of both herself and Yoshito.

Silently, Yoshito sat on the carpet, staring at the mess of books that lay on the floor—just like they had been _that day_. And even if it was five years ago, the whole event played back in his mind… All the yelling from both Mai and their mother, the door slamming… Yoshito coming to check on her, the broken picture frame… All of it was still a very vivid memory for the poor child. _I'm surprised that we haven't tried to clean the room up any…_ Yoshito thought, letting out a sigh. Though he knew the exact reason why—his mother refused to come into the room at all. And when she tried, she would always burst into tears. This… room held one of their family's worst memories.

Yet, at the same time, it held some of Yoshito's happiest memories with his sister—The two of them were extremely close, and almost inseparable, after all…-

Lost in his own thoughts, Yoshito flinched when he saw something dart across the room out of the corner of his eye. Turning to where it seemed to have went, the ten year old frowned. _Stupid Noise,_ he thought, glaring at it. Of course they'd be in Mai's room—there was still a negative association with the room. As he stared down the Noise, it stared back at him—almost as if it were surprised that he had been able to see it. "…. Get out," Yoshito muttered, crossing his arms and still watching the creature. Of course, it obviously didn't listen and Yoshito let out a sigh. And it wouldn't be wise to make a loud ruckus over it—it was just a Garage Wolf, after all—they weren't all _that_ threatening from what he had seen…-

Even if they fed off negative emotions just like any other Noise.

Of course Yoshito didn't expect anyone to sit with him at lunch. It… was something that the black-haired boy had grown used to. The fact that people avoided him like the plague. The fact that no one wanted to be around him at all… All because they didn't quite understand what he saw. According to everyone else, Yoshito Akira was crazy. Hell, even he thought that he was crazy from time to time.

But there was one thing that would remind him otherwise—even if he wasn't completely sure if he was just seeing things or not— _Mai._ Though his elder sister wasn't around during school hours—she'd have no reason to be anymore—he'd still get to speak with her quite often _after school._ She'd always be the one to assure him that, no matter what the other students said, he wasn't crazy. That he didn't deserve any of their cruelty…

But at the same time, she also helped him to keep a level head. To not do anything rash that he'd, eventually, regret. There were more times than Yoshito could count that Mai had managed to convince him not to bring something like a gun or knife to school—But at the same time, those ideas only proved how done he was with the majority of the students' shit—

Anyways, enough of that. Let's return to Yoshito eating lunch by himself—as boring as that may sound. Quietly, the black-haired boy ate the onigiri from his bento box—though that wasn't the only thing that had his attention. One thing that Yoshito did during lunch to keep him occupied was watch all the different people go about their daily things—at least for this time of day. There were the kids on the school's sports teams, who usually sat in close proximity to each other… Then there were the kids who'd spend all of lunch working on their homework while they ate… Basically, there were all kinds of groups who sat together in the cafeteria.

And Yoshito wasn't involved in any of them. He… didn't care for people too much—they were all the same. As soon as they found out about how he was different, they'd only belittle him for it. They wouldn't try to understand him—they'd go straight to teasing and bullying. Just like everyone that Yoshito had tried to get close to. No, it wasn't fair, but that's just how people were. And, at this point, Yoshito had come to accept it—

People were assholes. There was no questioning it—

After glancing over the cafeteria, Yoshito went back to focusing on finishing his food. A glance at one of the clocks that hung on the walls proved that it wouldn't be long until lunch was over—and he'd spent too long day-dreaming, anyways… However, whilst he wasn't paying attention, there were footsteps approaching him… And then the familiar, feminine giggle that Yoshito heard on an almost daily basis. "Yoshito!~"

 _Mitsuko…_ he thought, not even glancing up at the slightly younger girl who, along with her friends, tormented him on a daily basis. "… Leave me alone," he muttered before taking another bite of the onigiri in his bento box.

And, as always, Mitsuko ignored him. "Aww, that's no way to talk to your _best friend!_ " she exclaimed, sarcasm literally _dripping_ from her voice. She then leaned over the table, bonking Yoshito on the head before pulling away and resting her elbows on the table—and then her head in her hands. "You should be nicer, Mr. "I see dead people"! Maybe then you wouldn't have to sit alo—"

"I'm not going to be nice to a bitch like you, Mitsuko," Yoshito stated bluntly, interrupting the girl after pulling away from her bonking him. "Especially if you're going to passively aggressively mock me for something that I can't help," he added, putting the lid on his bento box and pushing it to the side before looking up at the girl, his green eyes staring into her blue eyes. From his expression, it was obvious that Yoshito had had enough of her shit for the day—And she hadn't even done much yet.

"Aww, see! This is what I mean!" she exclaimed, smirking. It was obvious that all she was trying to do was get a reaction out of the poor kid— However, before Yoshito could get a word in, the bell for their next class rang. And without another word, Yoshito was up out of his seat and heading out of the cafeteria—

At least, he would have been. Once Yoshito was out of his seat and walking between the tables, he stopped almost instantly as he felt someone grab him by the collar of his shirt from behind. Letting out a choked "Gya-huh?!", Yoshito felt himself be pulled back. It was obvious that Mitsuko hadn't been the one to do it—she wasn't nowhere near strong enough to pull him backwards like that…. But at the same time, he had a feeling that it was one of her 'friends'—And honestly, Yoshito didn't want to turn around to confirm this.

"Yoshiiiito~!" Mitsuko whined, a smirk on her face. "It's _rude_ to just leave a girl like that!" she exclaimed, walking around to the front of Yoshito. "Don't you have any manners?~"

There was no response from Yoshito.

"…. Um, hello? I'm talking to you-?"

Once again, no response.

Obviously starting to get irritated with him, Mitsuko turned on her heels before glancing back over her shoulder. "Fine, if you don't want to talk to me…" she trailed off, smirking a bit. "You boys know what to do~" and with that, she turned to face forwards again and started to walk out of the cafeteria…. Leaving Yoshito alone with Mitsuko's friends—

* * *

Yoshito let out a sigh as he walked down the street before cutting into an alleyway—a route that he knew quite well. He didn't like walking in large groups of people unless he absolutely had to—a large group of people usually meant that Noise were around… And Noise, honestly, scared the poor kid. As he walked down the alleyway, heading in the direction of Udagawa, Yoshito found himself poking at one of the bruises from earlier that day once again.

After Mitsuko had left the cafeteria, her friends had proceeded to jump on and attack poor Yoshito. And even if he had given them a few good licks, he had obviously suffered pretty badly from the fight… It was two against one, after all. Not to mention that the two of them had been quite a bit larger and stronger than Yoshito as well…

Overall, it hadn't been a very good day for him. Continuing to quietly walk, Yoshito let his mind wander. Why were people so cruel? Why was the Game so violent? Why—

Yoshito's train of thought was cut off as he heard faint footsteps behind him. They weren't very fast, nor very loud… And if he had been on a busier street, and not in the alley, he would have just ignored them. But curiosity got the better of him, and the child whirled around to face whoever was following him. After a moment, a smile grew on his face. Familiar build, wings, green eyes, curly black hair… "Maimai!" Yoshito would have moved to hug her, but he knew that he… wouldn't be able to do that, considering the circumstances. As well as the fact that she had her wings—evidence that she was still in the UG.

A smile came onto Mai's face when Yoshito whirled around to face her. "… Yeah, it's me, Bro-bro," she greeted, carefully leaning against one of the brick walls. A pause, and then—"…. How was school today?" She hadn't noticed the bruises yet.

Yoshito's smile turned into a frown as that question escaped Mai's mouth. What did _she_ think? It had been horrible, just like every other day. "…. What do you think?" he muttered, glancing away from her. "Shit—"

"Yoshito Akira!" Mai scolded, frowning at her younger brother. "What have I told you about swearing? Just because you hear others swearing doesn't mean that you should," she grumbled, continuing to give Yoshito a disapproving look for a moment. However, her gaze quickly softened. "…. But horrible as always, hmm..?"

Yoshito nodded, letting out a sigh as Mai scolded him for almost swearing. Did it really matter _that_ much? It's not like he was going to get into serious trouble for letting out the occasional 'shit' and 'damn', right…? But then again, this was Maimai—"…. Fine, sorry…" he muttered, letting out another sigh. "… But yeah, crappy as always."

And with that, Mai pushed herself off the wall and walked over to Yoshito. "… How about we head to Dogenzaka and get some ramen from Ramen Don?" she suggested, smiling a bit. If Yoshito had had a bad day, it would make sense for her to want to do something nice for her little brother to make him feel slightly better. "… It'd be on me," she added. She still hadn't noticed the bruises.

Smiling a bit, Yoshito gave Mai a nod before walking past her, glancing back over his shoulder. "… Sure, ramen sounds great!" And with that, both of them were heading towards Dogenzaka.

* * *

It wasn't too long before the two of them made it to Ramen Don. Yoshito was the first to walk into the restaurant, Mai following behind him. As she stepped through the doors, and past the mark, her wings faded as she phased into the RG—and was almost instantly hugged by Yoshito. "… Mommy's really missed you…" he murmured as Mai wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him.

"…. I know she has," Mai responded, letting out a sigh and pushing Yoshito away. "…. But now's not the time for that. Let's get our ramen?" With that, Yoshito was off of her—a big grin on the boy's face. Of course, that's one thing that Mai knew would cheer him up a bit. "… How about you pick our table, and I'll order?" she suggested.

Yoshito nodded, glancing up at her with green eyes. "Sure thing, Maimai!" and with that, he walked off and sat in a booth towards the back of the restaurant. No one should bother the two of them there, right? Not like Ramen Don was a very busy place to begin with. Anyways, with Yoshito already seated, Mai walked up to the counter, giving Ken Doi a polite smile.

"Two bowls of Shoyu Ramen, please," Mai ordered, taking the Yen from her wallet and placing it on the counter. Ken Doi returned the girl's smile before grabbing the Yen from the table, giving her her change, and going to the back—A few minutes later, he was back with both bowls of ramen. "Thank you," she stated, taking the ramen and turning on her heels.

"No problem," Ken Doi replied, watching as Mai walked over to the table where Yoshito was already sitting.

Mai sat across Yoshito, setting both bowls on the table and pushing her brother's bowl across the table to him—slowly as to keep it from spilling. "Here you go, Bro-bro. One bowl of Shoyu Ramen," she stated, smiling a bit. "It's your favorite, right?"

Yoshito nodded, pulling the bowl slightly closer before grabbing a pair of chopsticks. "Yeah—my favorite," he responded before picking up some of the noodles and gently blowing on them before bringing them up and into his mouth. "…. Ken Doi's ramen has always been great, though his Shoyu's my favorite," he added, his green eyes sparkling a bit. He _obviously_ didn't like the ramen in the slightest.

As he was speaking, Mai had started to slowly eat her ramen as well. "You're right, Ken Doi's ramen _is_ great," she stated, placing down her chopsticks for a moment and looking Yoshito over. That's when she noticed the bruises that covered his arms, and a couple on his face as well. "…. Yoshito?! _What happened?!"_ she exclaimed, raising her voice slightly.

Hearing Mai raise her voice slightly, Yoshito froze up a bit and almost dropped his chopsticks into the bowl of ramen. There was a moment of silence between the two of them, a look of concern on Mai's face, as well as a twinge of… what looked like disappointment? Finally, Yoshito broke the silence. "…. I… got into a fight today," he whispered, looking away. "Mitsuko kept bugging me, and the bell rang. When I tried to leave to go to class, I was stopped by her friends. And then they jumped me," he explained, his voice shaking ever so slightly. "I… d- didn't want to get into a fight…"

As she listened to Yoshito's story, a frown formed on Mai's face. "… Yoshito… I'm so sorry," she apologized, glancing away from him. "… You shouldn't have to be dealing with any of that," she added quietly. It was, honestly, times like this when she somewhat regretted her decision.

* * *

 **Alright, hope ya'll enjoy this chapter. Gives a little insight as to how things are on a daily basis for poor Yoshito, I guess. Though next chapter I'll be introducing an actual canon character—yay! Anyways, hope this is able to hold you guys over for a bit c:**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, finally got around to writing up another chapter for this- Sorry it's a bit shorter than the previous chapters, but I'll try to make up for that in the next chapter :3 Hope ya'll enjoy- And also have fun with the smol Neku child who's introduced this chapter~ :D**

* * *

As per usual Yoshito was seated at the back of the classroom. No one sat next to him, just like he had come to like it. Yesterday's incident had led to Mitsuko's friends getting suspended, however a quick glance around the classroom proved that _she_ was still there that day. _Of course, she wouldn't get suspended. She'd_ never _do something like that…_ Yoshito thought sarcastically, barely even paying attention to the teacher as he stared at the back of her head, her median-length blond hair tied neatly into a ponytail. Honestly, he couldn't see how anyone could tolerate her. She was a pain in the ass, and was blatantly mean to those who weren't in her little friend group. _It's people like her who should get Erased in the Game…_ Yoshito thought, letting out a sigh as he finally directed his attention to the teacher once again—who had just finished checking attendance.

"…. Now, class, before we begin our lesson today—" the woman paused, turning to the door and motioning for someone who was just barely out of sight to come in. "We have a new student who's just transferred here from another school," she explained, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder as he stepped into the classroom and stopped next to her. From his appearance, the boy had only recently turned ten. His orange hair, which was quite obviously dyed due to how bright it was, was styled to be spiky… and a pair of headphones hung around his neck. From the way he held himself, it was obvious he was extremely nervous for some reason, especially with how he took quite a bit to scan over the class. "Sakuraba, there's an open seat in the back," the teacher stated, pointing to the back of the classroom… and to the seat right next to Yoshito's… and from the unpleasant look he gave the teacher, he wasn't very happy with this.

However, the new student—Neku—gave the teacher a curt nod, whispered a quiet, "Thank you," before walking to the back of the classroom and quietly sitting next to Yoshito—pulling a binder from his book bag and carefully setting it on the desk. Once again, from the way he acted and carried himself, it was quite obvious that he was extremely nervous for some unknown reason. And, of course, Yoshito picked up on this quite easily… Not that he would say anything about it. He wasn't going to talk to the new kid. He didn't have any reason to, after all. Why try to get to know someone who'd just stab you in the back and make fun of you later? Just like everyone else? And because of this, he also hoped that 'Neku' didn't say anything to him—

Those hopes were soon shattered.

Not too long after Neku had sat down, and the teacher had started teaching her lesson, he glanced over at Yoshito. "…. Hey—"

Yoshito glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything in response. Why would he? It wasn't like he wanted to talk to the new kid. He didn't like people in general—and why should he? Everyone in his life, aside from his deceased sister, had been a complete asshole. Be it the kids at school, or even his own mother. Of course, the latter was trying her hardest- But Yoshito knew that she thought he was crazy. Just like everyone else.

… And maybe he was. But that didn't give everyone else an excuse to bully him like they did… right? It wasn't _his_ fault that he saw things that they couldn't—It wasn't _his_ fault that he was, supposedly, able to see the dead.

Of course, that obviously didn't matter to most people. Or, in Yoshito's mind, _all_ people. Because everyone was the same. Everyone shunned what wasn't 'normal'. What they didn't understand—It was only a part of human nature… A part that he hated more than he could ever dream to explain. Not like he wanted to fit in, either. The fact that everyone was a prick towards him now—towards him because he was different—was enough to prove to him that they weren't worth his time in the slightest. No one was. Because everyone was the same. Everyone would judge him, and think he was crazy as soon as they found out why everyone else shunned and treated him like they did.

… No one wanted to be the outcast. … Right? Everyone wanted to fit in—so why would they even bother sticking with the one person that everyone shunned? … They wouldn't. That was one way that Yoshito was certain that that was at least one way that everyone was the same. Two things on his list—How they shunned what they didn't understand, and how they all wanted to fit in… Even _he_ was guilty of the last part—And who wasn't guilty of that?

~O~

The final bell rang, and everyone almost instantly raised from their seats—Aside from Yoshito. He'd sit and wait for the majority of the class to exit the classroom before he left. A good way to avoid unwanted confrontation most times, he'd noted. Of course, that wasn't the case today. Because, almost as soon as the other students started to leave, a certain orange-haired boy came to the back of the classroom- Looking directly at Yoshito as he stood in front of the table that he was sitting at. "… The bell rang, y'know—"

"I know that," Yoshito stated calmly, avoiding eye contact. "And that means that _you_ should leave." Simple and matter of fact—Just like Yoshito always was. He was almost always straight to the point—especially when someone was starting to get on his nerves like this new kid was doing. It wasn't like he _needed_ this kid's company. Couldn't he just take the hint that Yoshito didn't want anything to do with him?

Of course, from Neku's next reaction, one of two things was obvious—Either he didn't get what Yoshito was hinting at, or he was just flat out ignoring the signals and was persistent enough to keep trying to befriend the black-haired boy. "Aw, but I don't have anywhere that I need to be afterschool today," he stated, crossing his arms and leaning down to the table. "… And you seem like you're really lonely and all—so…."

"I don't need your company," Yoshito stated, grabbing his things and standing up. "I don't need anyone's company," he added, pushing in the chair that he had been sitting in before walking right past towards Neku, and towards the door that led out of the classroom. Once he was in the hallway, Yoshito turned his head for a moment, almost instantly frowning as he noted that Neku was, more or less, right behind him. "I'm going to have to put this bluntly, aren't I—" before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder as someone punched him.

Before Yoshito could even react, he watched as the new kid proceeded to step between him and the other student who had decided it to be a good idea to hit him—and watched as he aimed a punch straight for the other student's jaw. "Fuck off." …. And then that's when several teachers, who'd only barely been paying attention, rushed towards them in order to separate them before all three of them were dragged to the school's office— _Just fucking great…-_


End file.
